Automatic mechanism for operating headlights.



G. H. HERRI GK. AUTOMATIC MECHANISM FOR OPERATING HEADLIGHTS.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 20. 1910.

Patented May 2, 1911.

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AUTOMATIC MECHANISM FOR OPERATING HEADLIGHTS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 20. 1910.

8 Patented May 2, 1911.

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- 76 GHHerrick. %X M UNFT GEORGE HENRY HEB/RICK,

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F FORT MADISON, IOWA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 2, 1911.

Application filed. August 20, 1910. Serial No. 578,133.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. Hnimiox,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Fort Madison, in the county of Lee and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Mechanism for Operating Headlights, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawlngs.

This invention relates to mechanism for automatically turning the head light of a locomotive so that it will follow the curve of the track as the engine rounds the curve.

The principal object of my invention resides in the provision of a comparatively simple mechanism arranged upon the boiler shell and engine frame and actuated by engagement with the curves of the rails, said mechanism being cooperatively associated with means arranged upon the boiler shell for rotating the head light in the proper direction.

A further object of the invention is to provide rail-engaging members movably mounted upon the engine frame, a rack and pinion arranged upon the boiler shell beneath the head light, the head light casing carrying a rack for engagement with the pinion, and means movably supported upon the boiler shell and cooperatively connected to the rail-engaging members and the opposite ends of said rack for turning the head light and causing the same to follow the curve of the track.

A further object is to provide means for regulating the possible extent of movement of the head light so that it may be caused, through the medium of the rail-engaging means, to follow a curve in the track of any radius, and still another object of the invention is to provide means for returning the parts to their normal position when the curve in the track is passed and the engine again enters a straight stretch.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation illustrating the practical application of my improved mechanism. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the 55 front end of the engine. Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line H of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a detail per spective View of one of the parts.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, E indicates the engine and R the railroad rails. The frame of the engine, desig nated at F, has secured thereto at opposite sides the brackets 5 which extend downwardly and inwardly and are bifurcated at their ends to receive the intermediate portions of the vertically disposed members 6. These members are pivoted in the bifurcated ends of the bracket arms and in the operation of the mechanism have lateral oscillatory movement. A cross bar 7 is bifurcated at its ends, as shown at 7, and is fixed upon the bifurcated ends of the brackets 5. The pivot pins connecting the bracket arms and the members 6 also extend through the bifurcated ends of the bars 7. A. leaf spring 8 has its intermediate portion engaged in the bifurcated ends of the bar 7 and extends above and below the same, the extremities of said springs being curved or bent, as shown in Fig. 1, and yieldingly engaged upon the edge of the members 6. These springs are adapted to assimilate the accidental oscillatory movement of the members 7 On the lower ends of the members 6 the wheel-engaging disks 9 are mounted. The outer surfaces of these disks are preferably convex to prevent the same riding over upon the tread of the rails, the circumscribing edge portions of said disks only being en gaged with the inner edges of the rail heads. The springs 8 also serve to yieldingly hold the disks in engagement with the rails. whereby a more steady action of the various parts of the mechanism in the turning of the head light is secured.

The upper ends of the members 7 are adjustably connected by means of a rod 10 which is disposed through one of the arms of the angle bars 11. The outer ends of these angle bars are pivoted to the upper ends of the members 6. Nuts 12 are threaded upon the ends of the rod 10 and are adjustable into engagement with the angle bars 11 to rigidly secure the angle bars and the rod together. An angle arm 13 is also pivotally connected at one end to the upper end of each of the vertical members 6. These 110 arms extend upwardly and outwardly and have pivoted to their intermediate portions one end of the bars 14, the other ends of which are adjustably secured to the upper 5 end of the upright 15 which is secured at its lower end to the central portion of the cross bar 7. The bars 1 1 are angularly disposed inwardly and downwardly and have their upper ends adj ustably secured to the upright 15. The upper end of this bar is provided with a longitudinal slot and the ends of the bars 1 1 extend upon opposite sides thereof. A bolt 16 is inserted from the rear through an opening in one of the bars 1 1 15 and through the slot in the upright 15 and extends through a sleeve 17 fitted into the end of the other bar 14. A nut 18 is threaded upon the end of the bolt 16 to secure the parts together. Thus it will be seen that the 20 bars 14 each have independent pivotal movement upon opposite sides of the upright '15. The outer upper ends of the arms 1?) are connected to the lower ends of the pivoted bars 19 which are vertically disposed and 5 curved at their upper ends to extend inwardly over the boiler shell. The lower ends of the bars 19 are slotted, as shown at 20, through which the connecting bolts between the arms 13 and said bars extend. The ends of the arms thus have free sliding movement on the lower ends of the bars 19. The bars 19 are pivoted intermediate of their ends between the ears of the U-shaped bearings plate 21. These bearing plates may be bolted, riveted or otherwise suitably secured to the boiler casing or shell. Bowed spring plates 22, similar in form to the springs 8 are arranged between the inner edges of the bars 19 and the base portions of the bearings 21. The ends of these plates 22 parts to their normal position and provide a steady action of the various elements.

The head light L is mounted upon a suitable supporting base 23 fixed upon the boiler shell. This supporting base has formed thereon a pivot stud 24 which engages in a central socket provided on the bottom of the head light easing. A rack bar 25 is movably arranged in a housing 26. The ends of said rack bar extend beyond the ends of the housing and each have secured thereto a depending disk 27. The upper ends of the bars 19 are bifurcated to receive the disks on the ends of the rack bar, connecting pins being disposed through the ends of said bars and the disks to pivotally connect the same.

The base of the housing 26 on which the rack bar is arranged extends beyond the toothed edge of said bar and has mounted thereon a pinion 28. This casing is provided with a removablecover plate for the rack bar and the rear edge of the base of the housing is upturned to provide means for securing the circular plate 29 thereon in which the stud on the upper end of the pinion 28 is mounted. The rack bar and pinion are located rearwardly of the head light L and to the head light casing an arcuate rack bar 30 is secured. The teeth of this rack bar are engaged with the upper portion of the pinion 28, as clearly shown in Fig. 6.

In the operation of the device, when the engine enters a curve in the track, the edge portions of the disks 8 follow the curvature of the rails, and it will be obvious that the lower end of the upright which carries the disk engaged with the outside rail will be moved inwardly, thereby throwing the upper end at the upright outwardly and act-uating the pivoted bar 19 to move the rack bar 25 outwardly or in a direct-ion opposite to that in which the rails extend. This movement of the rack bar 25 rotates the pin ion 28 which, being engaged with the teeth of the rack 30 carried by the head light casing, will cause the head light to turn upon the pivot stud 24 and thus follow the curvature of the track as the engine moves over the same. Liability of the occurrence of an 1 accident, owing to the fact that no light upon the right-of-way is obtainable in rounding a curve, is avoided and the stretch of track for some distance in advance of the engine is at all times illuminated so that the engineer may have a clear and distinct view of the space between the rack rails. Owing to the adjustable connection between the bars 14: and the upright 15, any extent of movement of the head light may be obtained in accordance with the" degree of curvature of the track on the particular railroad system on which the invention is used. The turning movement of the head light can thus be limited to prevent the same being thrown too far around by the sudden engagement of the wheels or disks 8 with the curved portions of the rails when the engine is moving at high speed.

From the foregoing it is believed that the construction and operation of my improved head light operating mechanism will be readily understood. It is comparatively simple in construction, and very positive in practical operation. The parts of the mechanism are of simple form so that they may be readily replaced when any one of them becomes broken.

While I have shown and described the preferred construction and arrangement of the various parts, it will be understood that the invention is susceptible of a great many minor modifications without departing from the essential feature or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. A device of the character described comprising movable rail-engaging elements mounted upon an engine frame, in combination with a movable headlight and operating means therefor, an adjustable connecting element between said rail-engaging elements, and spring-controlled means mounted upon the engine and adjustably engaged with said connecting means and connected to said headlight operating means.

2. The combination with an engine, of pivotally mounted rotatable rail-engaging disks mounted upon the engine frame, means yieldingly holding the disks in engagement with the rails, a rotatable headlight mounted upon the engine, and operating means therefor, means carried by the engine to actuate said operating means, and adjustable connections between said pivotally mounted disks and said actuating means to regulate the extent of movement of the headlight.

3. The combination with an engine and supporting frame, of rail-engaging elements pivotally mounted upon the frame, springs normally holding the elements in engagement with the rails, a rotatable head light mounted upon the engine, and operating means therefor, movable connections between said rail-engaging elements and the operating means, and means adjustably connecting said movable connections and the rail-engaging elements to regulate the extent of movement of the light.

4. The combination with an engine and supporting frame therefor, an upright pivoted intermediate of its ends upon each side of the frame, 'disks mounted in the lower ends of the uprights engageable with the rails of a track, a connecting bar between the uprights, springs arranged in the ends of the connecting bar engaging the upright to normally hold said wheels in engagement with the rails, means connecting the upper ends of the uprights, a rotatable head light mounted on the engine and operating means therefor, and movable connections between the upper ends of the uprights and said operating means to turn the head light when the engine enters the curve of the track.

5. The combination with an engine and supporting frame, of a vertical upright pivotally mounted upon each side of the frame, a rotatable disk having a convex outer face engageable with the rails of a track, a cross bar connecting the uprights at their pivoted points, means for yieldingly holding the wheels in engagement with the rails, means pivoted to the upper ends of the uprights connecting the same, vertically disposed bars pivotally mounted upon opposite sides of the engine, movable connections between the lower ends of the bars and the upper ends of the uprights, a head light rotatably mounted on the engine and operating means therefor, the upper ends of said vertical bars being connected to the operating means to actuate the same upon the engagement of the wheels carried by the uprights with a curve in the track rails, and means for limiting the extent of movement of the head light.

6. The combination with an engine body and supporting frame therefor, of a rotatable headlight mounted upon the engine body, operating means for said headlight comprising a movable rack bar, a pinion rotatably mounted adjacent to the bar and extending above the same, a rack carried by the headlight and engaged with the upper portion of the pinion, track rail-engaging elements pivotally mounted upon the engine frame, and adjustable operating connections between said rail-engaging elements and said movable rack bar.

7. The combination with an engine body and supporting frame therefor, of a rotatable headlight mounted on the engine body, operating means for said head light comprising a reciprocatory rack bar, a housing for said bar, a pinion rotatably mounted in the housing and extending above the bar. said pinion being engaged with the teeth of the bar, an arcuate rack carried by the head light casing and engaged with the upper poI.- tion of the pinion,track rail-engaging means mounted on the engine frame adapted to be actuated on the entrance of the engine upon a curved portion of the track, and operating connections between said means and the first named rack bar.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE HENRY HERRICK.

Witnesses:

JAMES H. MITCHELL, C. P. GRovER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

